Effects of ozone treatment to milk and whey concentrates on degradation of antibiotics and aflatoxin and physicochemical and microbiological characteristics

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the ozone treatment (OT) to milk concentrate (MC) and whey concentrate (WC) on the physicochemical and textural properties, as well as, on the microbial, antibiotic, and aflatoxin content. For that purpose, OT was applied to MC and WC samples 0 (control), 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 min. OT (60 min) achieved 18.9 and 9.9% degradation of aflatoxin M1 in MC and WC, respectively. OT caused degradation of β–lactam, and tetracycline in concentrates. Volume mean diameter of MC was increased by OT, those of WC was decreased. The firmness and consistency values of ozone-treated concentrates were lower than the control groups. OT decreased the cohesivity of MC. OT increased the lightness of samples, while it decreased yellowness. In MC and WC samples, OT was effective in reducing the microbial load. The degradation of antibiotics and aflatoxin, and reducing the microbial load of concentrates by OT are crucial for human health and the processing of dairy products.